Castro recovers free of workload

Castro recovers free of workload

By Anthony Boadle

HAVANA (Reuters) - Cuban leader Fidel Castro is relaxing for the first
time in his life as he recovers from intestinal surgery free of his
excessive workload, his older brother, Ramon Castro, said on Tuesday.

Castro handed over the reins of power to his younger sibling Raul Castro
on July 31 after undergoing emergency surgery to stop intestinal
bleeding attributed by the Cuban authorities to his workaholic pace.

"He is better. The problem was resolved quickly," Ramon Castro told
Reuters. "He is relaxed, resting."

Ramon Castro, the farmer in the family who has kept out of politics,
said Fidel Castro was enjoying some downtime since ceding the presidency
provisionally to his younger brother.

"He is happy because he is free. For the first time in his life he has
handed over the job to Raul," Ramon Castro said.

Castro's illness has forced him to abandon his legendary pace of
activity that included lengthy speeches, all-night meetings and the
overseeing of most aspects of Cuban government and society.

Details of Castro's illness and the operation he underwent are a closely
guarded state secret and rumours had been rife he might even have died
until Cuba released photographs and video of Castro around his 80th
birthday on August 13.

The images showed the bedridden leader alert and joking with his main
ally, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

In his first public statement published on Friday, Raul Castro said the
country was absolutely calm, although he added that the armed forces and
tens of thousands of reservists were mobilised in the crucial hours
after the hand-over of power was announced to face the threat of a U.S.
invasion.

Cuba watchers say the transfer of power was done smoothly but it is not
certain whether Fidel Castro will be able to resume full government
functions in one of the world's last communist countries.

'FEELING LIKE A LION'

Asked whether his brother would attend the summit of the Nonaligned
Movement that Cuba will host from September 11 to 16, Ramon Castro, who
will be 82 in October, said, "Sure, he is already feeling like a lion."

Ramon Castro spoke after lunching with Florida cattleman John Parke
Wright IV, who last year shipped breeding cattle to Cuba under an
exception granted for agriculture in the U.S. embargo imposed on Cuba
shortly after Castro's 1959 revolution.

The Naples, Florida-based businessman whose family sold cattle to Cuba
from the 1850s until the U.S. trade ban, said relations between U.S.
farmers and Cuba "are doing great" but would benefit if the embargo was
lifted fully.

Raul Castro, 75, said on Friday that Cuba was prepared to discuss
improved relations with the United States if Washington agreed not to
interfere in the island.

The administration of President George W. Bush, which has labelled the
hand-over of power from one Castro brother to another as an unacceptable
"dynastic succession," has tightened enforcement of the sanctions in
recent years and stepped up pressure for a transition to multiparty
democracy.

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Last updated: 22-Aug-06 23:05 BST

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